Authorpreneur Dashboard – Etheena Myrittie Ruth Sanders
Never Back Down: Book one in the Fight for Life series
Romance
Even at seventeen, Marilyn faces life head on. She has to, she’s got bills to pay, a mother and two younger sisters to take care of, and her Mother’s abusive boyfriend to avoid. Matthew’s life is pretty much perfect. Local football star, he’s handsome, outgoing and creative. He and his best friends have even managed to start their own company, so they’ve got college paid for. His life is going exactly according to plan. When Matthew meets Marilyn, he loses his heart with one glance. Marilyn, on the other hand, doesn't trust Matthew's sudden interest. Most of Marilyn's past experience with men ends with her being a punching bag, so she's reluctant to believe in Matthew's white knight image. After Marilyn gets beaten up by her mother's boyfriend, Matthew steps in and takes care of everything. When Matthew shows Marilyn love, gentleness and fierce protectiveness, she begins to question her beliefs about love and life. As they negotiate the ups and downs of their relationship, will Marilyn let go of the past enough to trust her heart to his keeping or is he too good to be true? With nasty rumors about Marilyn’s past flying around and her father out of jail bent on revenge against Marilyn for putting him there, Marilyn and Matthew will learn that if you want to win in love, you can Never Back Down!
Book Bubbles from Never Back Down: Book one in the Fight for Life series
What I was always afraid to do!
Being honest and learning how to communicate with people you are in a relationship with is hard. I spent a lot of my life thinking what I was feeling was not valid; that I needed to put my own needs aside for that of others. Not that my husband has ever made me feel that way, but I had a series of step-fathers who reinforced that thought process. Because I put my own feelings aside for so long, I found it hard to be honest when it really mattered. "I'm okay" is what I said when I should have said "I feel overwhelmed and just need a hug." When you find someone you feel safe enough to be truly and completely honest with, hold on to them. Weather that person is a friend or lover; they become a priceless piece of you.
Should I really write this?
Child abuse is not a pretty subject and it's one most people tend to shy away from, as it can bring up significant issues for a lot of people. Statistically, in the US there is an average of 3 million reports of Child abuse reported yearly. These cases involve over 6 million children. That number does not include unreported numbers. We also loose between 4 and 7 children daily to abuse and neglect. Not that we see this in the news, but it is true. I went back and forth about writing this scene - do it or don't do it, but in the end I chose to keep it. It is significant to the plot and helps create character depth. Writing is about taking risks. Some readers will endure the scene and cheer the heroine and some will stop reading altogether, offended that I even thought about including it in the book. The facts are, scenes like the one in my book happen on a daily basis. Glossing over it or turning a blind eye will not make it disappear. Keep reading though; Marilyn will triumph over Robert and use her experience to help many others in the books ahead!
A good kind of scary.
Relationships are scary. They mean opening yourself up to new possibilities and experiences. When My husband and I first got married, we attended a couples class and the instructor said something that has really stuck with me. We have all sorts of expectations of the people we choose to be in relationships with. Sometimes the expectations are bad, like Marilyn's expectations of being hit or sexually abused, and sometimes they are good, like Matthew's expectation of openness and honesty from Marilyn, but we can be disappointed with our partners due to either set of expectations. If we don't recognize that the "good behavior" we are expecting from the other person is our past experience, not theirs, we will continually be disappointed when they do not act the way we want them to. Until this was pointed out to me, I didn't realize I was mad at my husband because he didn't fix the car the way my father did. Realizing this has saved a lot of frustration on my part. Marilyn and Matthew are still learning this lesson.
